Well as many of you know on Wednesdays I head down to my local Salvation Army because everything is 25% off on Wednesdays. I just got home and as always I did not return empty handed. The bargains are not to be believed. I have made it my mission to inform as many people as possible of the wonders of thrift stores. For all you mom's who work so very hard to stretch your household budget to cloth your children, yourself or your husband. Buy nice things for your home or thoughtful gifts for friends and family. If you are not going to thrift shops you are doing yourself a disservice. I challenge you to go to your local Walmart and purchase similar items that I am going to showcase here....at similar prices ! OK..let's get started.....
Item # 1...I am going to start with a free item. Yes..you heard me...FREE! My husband took some things to our recycling center and sitting on the textile bin was this pair of brand new, never worn, Sketchers athletic shoes...in my size ;-) These babies retail for $62.00!
Item #2 ...a local shop in town is relocating and they were having an "everything must go " sale. I spotted this Klaussner club chair and asked if it was for sale. It was and I could have it for $75.00...SOLD! I went home and googled ( I swear one of these days I am blogging about Google) my new chair. I found my chair at a couple of furniture stores for $599.00!!!!! My chair is just like brand new..no spots, sags or funky smells...can it get any better than that?
Item #3...Need a pretty gift for a friend..maybe to say thank you or Happy Birthday? How about this beautiful porcelain creamer. This is such a gorgeous piece of Bavarian porcelain and I only paid $3.75. Does Walmart sell Bavarian Porcelain????? I think not.
Item #4...Going to a baby shower or a christening? I have the perfect gift..don't you just love Beatrix Potter? The colors and illustrations on this Wedgewood porcelain mug are beautiful.
What a wonderful gift for a mom or mom to be...heck I want it just for me . Gee, does Walmart sell Wedgewood?? I paid $3.50...be still my heart.
Item #5...Now on to my eternal hunt for wool and cashmere sweaters to felt. I struck gold..or should I say diamonds, with this pretty blue 100% cashmere cardigan. Check out the fab buttons...Diamonds!!!!! Ok...so they are not real diamonds, but they sparkle like them.
This beauty will make a toasty pair of fingerless gloves and a cute sweater for a lucky child. The buttons alone were worth the price...$3.75. Ok...am I getting you excited yet?????
Item #6...This gorgeous ruffled blouse will be repurposed and matched up with a couple of felted sweaters...warm and feminine. It was originally from The Limited..no cheap clothing there. I paid $3.75. 
Item #7...I am always looking for lovely yellow sweaters to felt. Yellow is a more rare color to find in good condition. I was dancing in the aisle when I spotted this J CREW yellow wool pullover. If you know retail clothing, you know J CREW is a very expensive shop. I Googled this piece they sell for approx. $65.00....My price...drum roll please...................$3.75! Yeah baby...I am doing the happy dance.
Item #8...My hubby used to tease me about my thrift store runs until I brought him a J CREW oxford shirt right out of the cleaners (med starch) for $4.00 (retail $88.00). Now he looks forward to my trips. Today was an especially good day for him. I found 7 shirts in his size and all were pristine condition and most had dry cleaner tags still on. Six of his shirts were $5.25 each and one was $2.99 ( because I smiled nice at the mgr ). When was the last time you bought men's dress shirts at Walmart for $5.25? 
A few close ups to show off the name brands.
My man is a huge fan of LL BEAN so he is going to love these ( i found two ).
This dress shirt is my favorite find of the day....I Googled 'Arthur A. Adler' and found that this mens shop in Washington D.C. is were members of Congress, Supreme Court and Former President Bush ..plus many other famous gentleman, buy their clothes. I am going to take a wild guess that this is probably a $80.00-100.00 shirt (you know how the government loves to waste money). I am sure the fact that I paid $3.75 is impressive, however I am going to impress...no.. maybe even shock you with one more fabulous feature of this shirt. Are you ready? The label says...MADE IN U.S.A!!!!!!!! I am so happy to find that we do still make things in this country, and good things at that! This revelation in itself made my whole trip worthwhile. Now go out there and find a bargain..don't make me drag you kicking and screaming out of Walmart!Until next time..be kind and stay creative.
16 comments:
We have a thrift store in our home town. I used to buy a lot of the boys clothes and sometime got lucky with a snowsuit or two. They have no clothes in my husbands size and the boys started to get too picky (no t-shirts with sayings on them). But that's ok, it's still fun to shop there and look.
You made a really good haul!!
Informative! Enjoyed reading!
It's so much more fun to find just the right piece! AND thrift stores are green, which I am ALL ABOUT!!
I use thrift stores and charity shops for fabrics for my cards. I love old fabrics and have even used a pair of mens boxer shorts (well washed of course!) to make wedding cards. One pair of shorts cut up into the shapes I add to my cards will make hundreds of cards. I'm always searching for tartan (plaid) and suspect I would find more in the US than here in Scotland.
okay, what store in town is relocating?
Thanks for stopping by my blog and for the comment. :)
Love finding deals!
You are one thrifty lady - good on you! Love seeing all your finds :)
You rocked that thrift store, go you!
Thanks! The pillow is from Ikea and it is embroidery. I didn't make it...wish I had. The runner was made by my great-grandma. Thanks for your lovely comment.
You are so clever. And I imagine patient too. I get so boggled in thrift stores and can't see the trees for the forest...you did wonderfully well! I'm feeling persuaded...
wow and more wow. What amazing finds! Thanks for stopping by my blog!
I love your porcelain finds! Your shirts purchase was terrific- glad to see you made your husband a convert. LOL
:-) Sue
You really can have fun in these shops , I love them .
I love a good bargain, and therefore, you are my hero! That red chair is amazing!
~Aly
I agree with Aly! My hero! I never find stuff!!
Post a Comment